
AsianScientist (Mar. 6, 2018) – Cipla Ltd. and Roche Pharma India have entered into an agreement under which Cipla will promote and distribute two drugs developed by Roche. The drugs, tocilizumab (Actemra) and bevacizumab (Syndyma), are both monoclonal antibodies, targeting the immune regulator IL-6 and blood vessel regulator vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) respectively.
“The prevalence of cancer and rheumatoid arthritis is widely spread across India, and Cipla can contribute to provide broader access to innovative medicines like tocilizumab and bevacizumab,” said Mr. Umang Vohra, MD & Global CEO Cipla.
“This partnership will significantly advance our efforts to expand the reach of, and improve access to, our innovative medicines. This will also enable us at Roche to focus on bringing new, transformative medicines to patients in India,” said Ms. Lara Bezerra, Managing Director – Roche Pharma India.
Actemra® is a recombinant humanized anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody. IL-6 is believed to play an important role in rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. It binds to both soluble and membrane-bound IL 6 receptors and has shown to inhibit receptor-mediated signaling. It has been studied in various clinical trials and has been approved for its use in various indications like rheumatoid arthritis, polyarticular-course juvenile idiopathic arthritis and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Bevacizumab is a recombinant humanised monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to and neutralises the biologic activity of human VEGF. Better known by its trade name Avastin, bevacizumab has been approved by regulators worldwide for certain types of brain tumour, cancers of the kidney, lung, colon and rectum and certain types of gynecological cancers. It is usually given as part of a combination of cancer medicines.
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Source: Cipla Ltd; Photo: Shutterstock.
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